28th Jul 2004, 21:30

I am the first owner of a 2000 Maxima GLE with 38K miles and the check engine light came on about a month ago (car is about 5 years in operation). Shortly before the light came on, the engine seemed to be running rough and poor acceleration. I thought it was just bad gas. I put premium gas in and it started running much better, but the light remained on. Nissan wanted to charge me $90 just to see why the light was glowing. I searched the web, found this site, read the comments above and decided to simply try to reset the on-board computer by disconnecting the battery (neg cable) for about 10 minutes. It seems to have worked. I will report if the light comes back on after some serious driving. Meantime, I'm going to bite the bullet and stick to buying premium gas - better than paying for diagnostic or a unneccesary and/or expensive fix. -Andy.

18th Aug 2004, 14:07

The service engine soon light on my 1999 SE lit up in early July. It was the ERG (or EGR) Temperature Sensor. Cost was approx. $300. Two weeks later the light lit up again, only to go out for several days. Now it has lit up again... this time dealer's service dept. says it's the ERG (or EGR) valve which is located behind the sensor??

They struck a deal with me... no labor charges and discounted price on the part...$140...ca-ching! This is my second and last Maxima.

24th Aug 2004, 22:15

I had the Check Engine Light on four times on my 2000 Max. GXE. The most recent time was for a coil for the emissions system, they pinpointed that one of the six was bad- 200 repair. The other three times was for the Oxygen (O2) Sensor, still under warranty.

Yes, I fill with premium always. Yes, the gas cap is tightened. One co-worker had his fixed ten times! Since there are two in front and two in back, the chances are that one or more are going to be faulty.

31st Aug 2004, 08:58

The "Service Engine Soon" light came on at 65000 miles on my 1999 Maxima. I took it to my local mechanic who said that the #4 cylinder is not working properly. It needs a new coil. He will replace all 6 spark plugs. The total cost is $400.00 incl. labor (3 hours), and PA sales tax (6%). My fear would be when are the other coils going to go bad? How much would it cost to replace the remaining ones.

1st Sep 2004, 08:59

I have a 2000 Maxima SE and at about 61k miles the dreaded "Check Engine" light came on. Brought it in for it's 60k mile check up and the dealer said that I needed a new pre-catalytic converter to the tune of $1200! Anyone heard of this?

2nd Oct 2004, 19:48

I have a 2001 Nissan Maxima and the service engine light is on. It came on for about a week and then went out. Now it on again and it hasn't went out. The first time it went out when I put gas in it. I'm going to disconnect the battery cable, and see want happens. My car only had 25,000 miles on it when I brought it on March 17, 2004. I kinda regret it now, I shouldn't be having problems already.

5th Oct 2004, 06:21

I have had the same problem with the Check Engine Light. I disconnected the battery for about 10 minutes and the light went out. There was no noticeable difference in the performance which indicates to me that it's a Nissan scam. About 2,000 miles later it came on again and I did the same thing.

If its really not broken don't fix it. You'll know if you have a real problem.

11th Oct 2004, 10:43

I own a 2000 Nissan Maxima GLE- and guess what happened about three weeks ago? The now infamous "Service Engine Soon" came on! Took it to the dealership and they told me that it was 3 of the 6 ignition coils, but that I should consider replacing all 6 as they work in pairs and the 3 that are currently working, are working harder. So we're talking about $850!!! Not to mention that I also now have to do the 60,000 miles service which is another chunk of change. Needless to say, I am not a happy camper! I love Nissans, but after reading the other comments, I'm not so sure I'll be purchasing another one!

Has anyone else had ignition coil problems?

24th Oct 2004, 19:03

I have a 2000 Nissan Maxima and I had my car for about 2 years and it started giving me problems when the weather was cold and I first started it, I have taken it in twice and have spent 400.00 per repair. Then about a month ago the check engine light came on and the spuddering has gotten somewhat worse. I have started putting premium gas in and am hoping that will help. If anyone knows how to fix this please let me know.

28th Oct 2004, 10:33

I have the same problem in a '99 SE. It started at about 10K miles - had it fixed then came back around 30K. Never had it looked again. Never had any probs with engine, gas mileage still good. Now have 64K miles. I too think it is a scam by Nissan Service Dept's. With all these probs, you can't tell me they can't figure out what it is.

7th Dec 2004, 11:09

I have a 2000 Nissan Maxima GLE with 57,000 miles on it and the Service Engine Soon light came on. I was immediately worried so I read the manual. Although I am always careful when filling the tank and even turning the cap beyond clicking I still went ahead and made certain the cap was tightly secure. I have always put premium gas in my car. I decided to go on-line and do some research and that's when I found this thread. I tried disconnecting the battery, waited, then took it for a test drive right after. The light didn't turn back on for about three or four weeks after that. Until the other day. The car hasn't been driving differently at all so I decided to try disconnecting again. Well the light turned back on the next day. It's going to be $90 just to see what the problem is. I must add that when I bought the car (which had at the time 10,000 miles) the SES light was on and it turned out to be an O2 sensor, which was still under warranty. After I find out what the problem is and what it's going to cost I'll post again. I have to say that I love my maxima (maybe too much) but it's been a very reliable car now with this happening it's really disappointing. I'm going to have to keep in mind all of the comments when they trouble shoot on my car. I'm dreading the expense. It really is unfair how all of us Maxima owners are having to shell out various amounts of money for these problems.

9th Dec 2004, 12:11

Regarding the $70+ fee that the dealer charges to tell you what is wrong when the check engine light goes on, check out... http://vbxmaxima.8m.com/ecu.html

I have not yet used this myself, but it appears to be a fairly simple way to self diagnose your car. You need Internet access to get the results of the code, but if you are here reading this, that shouldn't be a problem. Post back and let me know if it indeed works. I will be trying it soon because my light recently went on and the dealer charged me $60 to tell me I need 6 new ignition coils for $600 or so. 42K miles on my car. But this site and others (http://www.nissanforums.com/a32-1995-1999-chassis/44363-99-maxima-problems-primary-ignition-coils.html) prove that this is somewhat normal for 2000 Maximas... I want to check the codes myself before paying such money..